Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway

So... this isn't really a Universal trip report, but thought I'd post here for all Potter fans! My son (age 11) and I, who have gone to Universal multiple times, decided to do a different Harry Potter holiday this year -- to go see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway! So, doing a mini-non-spoiler review here for anyone interested.

First, getting tickets... I did NOT get chosen in the first lottery after spending a LONG TIME getting registered for it. I panicked a bit. We had our hearts set on going right after school was out (in late May). I noticed that New York City Vacation Packages offered a theater package and stated they could get Harry Potter tickets. So, I contacted them. They said they could get us tickets in fourth row center orchestra. We like being up in the balcony, but I wasn't going to say no to that! They quoted me a HUGE price quite frankly,
with the hotel thrown in the package being Novotel. I looked Novotel up and it had gotten good reviews, so I thought, to heck with it, going to do it. About 30 minutes after tickets went on sale, the travel company called me and said they couldn't get those tickets, but they could get 2nd row balcony. SOLD. I asked how much they'd discount the package. They did a little and were reluctant to do so. Long story short -- if you can get tickets without doing the package thing I did, do so. I found out later I am the ONLY person they (so far) have gotten tickets for. The hotel was a good location and big rooms. Had some issues about the view and about a resident fee they charge (which I've learned is standard), but my son LOVED the hotel. Also with the package, we basically got a city pass.

So, on to the important part: HARRY POTTER! IT was AMAZING. We had read the play right when it came out in book form. I thought the story was good, but not as fantastic a read as the book series. So, my expectations were a little low. Kind of glad they were because I was totally BLOWN AWAY. If you are a Potter fan, do whatever it takes to go do this show! Part I is slightly better than Part II. The actor who plays Scorpius Malfoy was terrific -- our favorite. The actors who played Ron and Hermione were also great. There were some other "surprise" characters I don't want to spoil. One minor character was spot-on. Some of the others could not live up to their famous movie star counterparts.

The play was our favorite part of NYC and we did A LOT: top of the crown at Statue of Liberty, Chinatown exploring (including aura read), World One Observatory, Early Entry VIP tours of both the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Natural History Museum, Spyscape, the National Mathematics Museum, a bike tour of Central Park, and a walking tour of Broadway. I'll keep my main report here about Potter, but if anyone has any questions about what we saw/did in NYC, be glad to answer.

Harry Potter was in the Lyric Theater -- redone for the show and it was just beautiful. They also had a HUGE selection of souvenirs. I got bags, pins (those were for free after the play), pens, a beautiful program, and a sweatshirt. There were many other choices. Part I lasted 2 hours and 40 minutes (which FLEW by -- pardon the broomstick pun) and Part II lasted 2 hours and 35 minutes.

Here are some pics of my son and I and the theater. I hope this helps with anyone wanting to go -- seriously, if you want to, you MUST!!!!

I’m so glad you both enjoyed it......and glad the hotel was good too.....makes such a difference......yes they do add on some odd charges to their hotel rates!!!

It does sound like an amazing show......and would love to hear all about the other parts of your trip too!!

And as a side......Davy is getting so grown up

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Well, I may just have to do a full-blown report. Or, at least share some pics! And, yes, Davy is becoming such a young man! And, he's getting really close to being as tall as me. I told him to stop that!

Well, I may just have to do a full-blown report. Or, at least share some pics! And, yes, Davy is becoming such a young man! And, he's getting really close to being as tall as me. I told him to stop that!

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Oh you should NYC is an amazing city.........

It is a shock when they get closer to our height.........yes, and then they overtake us in height.......

Well, if @schumigirl wants it, it's going to happen! I'll do a report on whole trip (plus, I loved hers from NYC here too!). So, as I stated above, my son and I really wanted to go to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I have been to NYC quite a few times -- my son has been there once before and LOVED it. So, he was excited to go again. I told you above about how we did this package... and, I spent WAY too much money on it, but at least knew I had tickets to the show. DON'T go through a travel agency. LOL.

May 27: So, when we left Kansas City (our hometown), it was HOT. And, it was going to get HOTTER. I had seen it may rain and be a little chilly in NYC for the first part of the trip, so was going to pack some warmer clothes, but then it looked like it'd be mid-60s to mid-80s during our trip, so I didn't bother (mistake).

Another note: since having Davy (my son) over 11 years ago, I have carried extra weight. About 6 or 7 months ago, at my last checkup, my bad cholesterol was high. Then, my back went out playing tennis. REALLY OUT. I was in severe pain for three days. I knew it was because of the weight. Also, I knew this trip was coming up and I just hated all the pics I had of me recently. So, all that together made me really work hard starting a few months go, and I'm proud to say I've lost 25 pounds! A few months before I got pregnant, I had shoulder surgery, which made me gain 15 pounds, then got pregnant. So, my next goal is to get to pre-pregnancy weight (8 pounds to go!), then get to my pre-surgery weight after that. Total, I'd like to lose another 25, but I'm SO happy about my progress and now am not ashamed of pics of myself. So, you'll actually see some of me in this!

ANYWAY, we were off! We headed to the airport and while waiting to line up to board, we saw a guy in flip-flops, carrying a toddler and THREE car seats RUNNING through the gate. All the moms around me were yelling at this idiot. Such a tragedy waiting to happen.... The next craziness -- it's 7 am and there was a lady on the plane in full makeup, a velvet party dress, and boots -- she was ready for action! lol. Anyway, once on the plane, the stewardess asked if we'd mind if a minor traveling alone could sit in our row. Of course! He was a nice kid. Nine years old -- he was meeting his grandma in NYC. We shared snacks and I read to the boys from my Star Wars magazine (yes, this mama is a BIG NERD). Time FLEW by and then we landed!

We landed in New York, grabbed a cab and headed to our Times Square hotel, Novotel. We checked in. Through the travel agency, I had asked for a Times Square View. They said they requested it and to ask for it again at the desk. So, when I checked in, I did. They said they only had Hudson River views. I didn't get a picture, but we had basically a view of dirty tops of buildings. I did have a pretty good view of the theater Mean Girls was showing in, but nothing special. But, the room was spacious and the bathroom looked awesome. Davy LOVED it. Somehow, I ended up with no pics of the room. I will say, for the money, it's a great hotel if you want that location. This was the first time I stayed so close to Times Square. It was a great location, and you could not hear the city below at all. BUT, after walking through Times Square almost every day, I had had enough. Next time, I will probably stay elsewhere in the city. Maybe closer to Central Park. This was the lovely view from the hotel's restaurant.

We were HUNGRY even though we had eaten some sandwiches on the plane. I had the grilled cheese and tomato soup. It was great. Davy's kid meal was awful (chicken strips and ice cream). I hear the breakfast was fantastic here, but Davy just wanted cereal every morning in the room, so we never tried it (he had one VERY BAD experience with a hotel breakfast on a trip with his dad and now I think he just doesn't want to do it period). The room had a small refrigerator, so we could stock up. There was a grocery store next door which proved really convenient!

After snacking, we decided to hit one of our priorities: the new Spyscape Museum. We go out, and it's rainy and COLD. I was regretting that we didn't have warmer clothes! But, it was a short walk from the hotel and then we were inside. This little museum is a lot of fun. I had pre-booked flex pass tickets for this museum.... I knew we could go past lines to get tickets, but kind of forgot we could skip lines to certain things too. So, we breeze past the very long ticket line on this cold, rainy afternoon. There were kiosks where you would be asked questions to determine what kind of spy job you would get. Those were very fun! We went through one room that had the story of Alan Turing, the cryptologist who was the subject of the Imitation Game (an absolutely wonderful film starring Benedict Cumberbatch). They had some costumes from the movie and a replica of the code machine in which Turing decoded German messages during WWII.

Davy was especially interested in the "ethical hacking" info and the Anonymous group... beware -- this kid is SUPER SMART. I call him my Little Sheldon. He's skipped one grade -- they wanted him to skip two, but I didn't want my baby starting high school at age 12 and going to college at age 16! So, anyway, point being, he will be taking over the world soon. You'll see one of the souvenirs he asked for in these pics below:

Meanwhile... I NAILED the deception challenge. I could easily determine if someone was lying or telling the truth. Thank you, poker skills! I was to be an Intelligence Operative out in the field. Davy was an Intelligence Analyst I believe. You get an email with more details about these jobs -- I haven't had a chance to review!

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The last thing we did was do the laser room (trying to get past them like all thieves try to in the movies!). We waited A LONG time in the line when I heard one of the attendants talking about the "skip the line bracelet." Then I remembered, duh, we shouldn't have waited in the long line. BUT, unlike Universal or Disney -- there was no "here's the skip the line area" designated. I asked the attendant about it. He said they gave me the wrong color of bracelet to skip the lines. As this was our last activity (honestly, the line for the deception room was maybe 10 minutes and this was about 30-- and Davy ran around while I waited in line -- it really wasn't worth it to skip the lines even when it was probably more crowded than usual). But, I went down and they told me to email the company. I did and they took off the entire cost of Davy's whole ticket -- so even though we paid about $40 extra for both of us, I got like $52 back. I was more than satisfied with this. All in all, a fun little museum. I would only plan on 2-3 hours for a trip there. I doubt we go back, however.

After that, Davy was ready to head back to the room. We stopped at the store and got some food. Davy wanted to read his book. I was freezing and decided we needed warmer clothes. So, although he's only 11, I knew I could trust him to hang out in the room. I gave him a key and told him if there was a real emergency, go to the front desk. He also had a cell phone and we texted while I ran to get us some warm clothes. FAIRLY close by was H&M. I love this store, but there's one now in KC as well (even though I haven't been to it!). I grabbed a sweater for me and a long-sleeve shirt for Davy. It was a little big, but he'll grown into it. Then, I came back and settled in with my books. We were getting up early tomorrow morning for a Early Entry VIP tour of the Met!

Woke up and a friend had posted this pic of my boyfriend at the Roots Festival in Kansas City. Jason (the BF) said it was SO HOT on stage - over 100 degrees. My son loves this pic of Jason, so sharing. Jason also said Jason Sudekis was in the audience (there is a big charity thing that happens every year in KC for Children's Mercy Hospital -- I have attended many of these events for such a good cause). Also, we found it amusing that my Jason was wearing a jacket in the heat while playing while we had on shorts and t-shirts and were freezing in NYC!

So, we got up bright and early to get to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a VIP Early Entry tour. I had mapped out how to take subway and get there. I have to say, I have never had any problems navigating around NYC after many, many trips -- until this one. So, got off subway WAY FAR AWAY and was trying to walk there. I realized that I had my navigation on "drive" instead of walk and just goofed up all away around. We were going to be late (which kind of defeats the purpose of going on an early entry tour!). I happened to see a cab, flagged it down, and we got there just on time. Whew! There was a special exhibit at the Met -- Heavenly Bodies -- in which famous designers did a tribute to religion. Some of the dresses were supposed to look like stained glass windows... or, have other religious designs (like a pope-like dress). In one of the pics, you can see an angel up behind everyone in the background. I am not a deeply religious person by any means, but found this an amazing exhibit.

Our tour guide said we wouldn't spend a lot of time at each exhibit, but then she DID spend a lot of time in the American rooms. You will see one photo of a gentleman with a shuttlecock --- because the shuttlecock is a big symbol of KC's own Nelson Atkins Museum, I thought we should just take this with us and hang it up back home. LOL.

George Washington crossing the Delaware is pretty impressive and the story behind it amazing.

We next spent a LONG time at the tour guide's favorite portrait (which does have a fascinating history), Madame X. I also snapped some other shots in the room. Early American paintings really focused on portraits!

Davy had two favorite parts to the museum -- the Egyptian temple and the area with the musical instruments. I got plenty of pics! I did find out that Jackie O. had a lot to do with bringing the temple to the museum, and her apartments overlooked this area of the museum in fact.

Then, we ended the tour on the roof, which has such beautiful views! And, usually local artists displayed there as well. Davy was a big afraid of the creature up there!

That was the end of the tour, but we wanted to see a couple more things before the museum got crowded. So, we headed to the Greek room which is amazing. I took lots of pics there when I was at the Met last time, but for some reason didn't get any this trip. Then, we went to see the room dedicated to Hatshepsut, the famous female Pharaoh -- Davy had written an essay about her for school. I had been in this room before, but couldn't seem to find it on the map. I asked two attendants and no one seemed to know where to go. We finally stumbled on it.

With that, we set off to find some lunch. I had looked up some reviews and saw an Italian place nearby got good reviews and was popular with locals, so we headed off to Grazie. I think I had pizza and Davy has spaghetti. I know for sure he had a sundae because I got this pic:

The staff was wonderful here and the food was good. Plus, it's a great place to rest after museum touring! After our busy morning, we decided to head back to Novotel and rest. I watched the French Open (Vamos Nadal!) and Davy read some of his books. At the Met, I got a Van Gogh print (duh!) and we bought these books (the guidebook for me and the musical instruments highlight book for Davy):

To sum up our tour... it was pricey. I probably won't do it again, but it was so much fun being there when the Met was empty. Our tour guide was pretty good, but I wish she would've surveyed the group a little for what we might want to see. (Then again, I never would've thought the Heavenly Bodies exhibit would've impressed me so much.) There were about 20 in our group, so you really had to keep up to hear her sometimes. I would say, do it once if art really interests you. There are other "specific" tours that might be just as entertaining.

After our rest, we decided to explore Times Square a little. Davy had one shop he wanted to go to: the M&M store. We bought "personalized" M&Ms. I got some for my office. I didn't get pics, but Davy made some that said, "Gross!" "Don't Eat!" -- LOL. We were then hungry for dinner. I insisted on going to Ellen's Stardust Diner which was right by our hotel. It was a bit of a long line to get it. I remembered the food being OK but the entertainment -- the staff sing and many end up on Broadway -- being fabulous. Well, let me tell you, the food was AWFUL, but the entertainment was good. This was my second time there I think. Don't think I'll do it again. But, if you like singing, this is a fun place. Just don't expect good food.

By this point, we were POOPED and had another big day ahead of us, so we went back to the room and collapsed! Tomorrow... Statue of Liberty (and Mama Bear comes out!), our auras are read, One World Observatory -- they really don't want to let us in!

May 29 - We had tons planned for today! Four years prior, Davy, my boyfriend, and I climbed to the crown of the Statue of Liberty (and I had shingles at the time!) . Davy LOVED seeing it and really wanted to do it again. You must reserve going to the top months and months in advance, which we did. But, although we got tickets in advance for 8 am, you have to go in line and get your tickets at will call. So, we got there 30 minutes ahead of our time as it's suggested we do only to find that will call doesn't open until 8 am. But, I'm glad we got there early as the line just got longer and longer... so, we're near the front of THAT line, but the security line is growing and growing with folks who already have tickets.

Behind us in our line is a large group from Arizona. They seemed pretty friendly (at first). They said that they too had top of the crown tickets but that their time was "much later" but that their bus had dropped them off early. They asked me many tips about going around NYC as it was their first time there. Before the door opened, someone came and asked each person specifically what they were in line for, and then each person was told which window to go to. There was a specific window for the top of the crown.

The doors opened, we're all walking toward the windows at a fairly good pace still somewhat keeping the line intact, and then one of the women from the Arizona group RAN in front of us to get to the window before us (!). I said, "excuse me -- wasn't your time after ours anyway? What's the deal?" She ignored me and proceeded to get the 7 or 8 tickets for her time and then tried to argue with the will call attendant to add one more who hadn't pre-ordered. The attendant would not allow it -- it was sold out months ago. She kept persisting. Meanwhile, time is a ticking and we've got places to be! LOL. I turned to the main two I had been talking to in the group and said, "don't ask me for any more help after this. Just unbelievable!" They looked embarrassed. Finally, she gets a pedestal ticket for the one extra person and it's our turn. We take less than a minute to get our passes and we're off to the security line. The group is standing around trying to figure out where to go next and what to do since one in the group doesn't have a crown tickets. We leave them standing and scurry on.

One boneheaded thing I did was bring my car keys with me. I didn't need them. My boyfriend had dropped us off and was picking us up at the airport. Well, my keys have a security thing on it (which I think quit working ages ago -- I have a REALLY OLD car!). They wanted to hand-inspect my bag because of it. Didn't take too much extra time, and then finally, on the ferry. Really, after getting our tickets, it didn't take too long through a very long line at security. They are efficient!

I think we're on the 2nd or 3rd ferry in the morning. It was very crowded and it was hard to hear the announcements at that point. I learned later when it comes near the dock, they warn you to hold on or stay seated for docking, but didn't hear that going to the island. So, like EVERYONE on the boat, when we got near, we started heading toward the exits... Here are some shots from the ferry:

As we were about to dock, a woman stood really close behind Davy. When we docked, we were all rocked a little and Davy completely lost his balance and stepped on the woman's foot. You would have thought Davy had cut her foot off and ate it the way she was screaming. Davy was so apologetic -- he turned and sincerely apologized. She called him a brat. He was in tears. Mama bear came alive -- I may have said a few words I should not have in front of Davy. I also pointed out how stupid she was for wearing open-toed shoes on an excursion such as this..... Davy talked about this moment over and over on the trip -- he was so thankful I stood up for him.

Anyway, we were finally done with rude people and on to the Statue! We had already seen the museum and the rest of the island, so we headed straight for the top! We chuckled as people were complaining how many steps there were to climb to the pedestal (you could take an elevator to it as well honestly, but we were here to climb!). So, we passed all these folks, handed our tickets to the crown attendant and headed up. Let me say, it's a very narrow, winding, steep staircase to get to the top. And, it's more scary climbing down to tell you the truth, but we were so proud of ourselves -- worth it! And, the views! You can see what's written on her tablet as well. Here's the pics!

I`m with you......my claws would have come out big time too!!! There are some people who sadly don't have a clue...….poor Davy!! But, well done.....

And how rude at the SOL...…..again, some people...……

Sounds amazing though what you did last couple of days......I had no idea all those things were in that place!!! Those pictures are amazing...…..and love Davy`s face in the restaurant......lol...….

Posting pics today is weird......every time I tried it rebooted...….very frustrating...….

Nice updates though...….

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I should have mentioned that the park attendants were AMAZING. Since I work for the Corps of Engineers, and work with lots of park attendants, I love them! But, the ones at the Statue of Liberty are always so knowledgeable and nice. there's a great one in the pics I'm hoping to post -- kind of glad it's not just me! Oh, there was also a very frightened English woman on the stairs going down. Nice young couple -- Davy was so encouraging. "We can do it! We made it up -- we can all make it down in one piece!" I got hung up on not being able to post pics, so I hadn't shown the good side to people as well as the rude!